Cancer survivor looks forward to 5K

Published 5:36 pm, Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Pancreatic cancer survivor Peter Suess exercises Monday at Olympic Gym on North New Braunfels in preparation for Saturday's 5K run/walk.

Pancreatic cancer survivor Peter Suess exercises Monday at Olympic Gym on North New Braunfels in preparation for Saturday's 5K run/walk.

Photo: Marvin Pfeiffer / NE Herald

Cancer survivor looks forward to 5K

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When Peter Suess was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer four years ago, the odds were that he would die within the next year.

Suess said his reaction and that of his family was of shock and disbelief.

“The diagnosis was devastating,” Suess said. “When I found out, it made me nauseous. It made me week-kneed and scared the heck out of us.”

According to the American Cancer Society, 73 percent of pancreatic cancer patients will die in the first year of diagnosis.

But instead of giving up, Suess went about fighting the disease with everything he had, going through numerous chemotherapy treatments and surgeries. Today, he is cancer-free.

“I feel euphoric,” said Suess, a retired San Antonio resident. “I am very humbled by this because very few people survive this long. The last year has been wonderful because I have not had to go to the doctors or have chemotherapy.”

“All the things the (doctors) put me through worked,” he said. “All the chemotherapy, radiation and surgeries all worked to get me healthy.”

Suess said that, during the treatment, he lost 70 pounds. But, through a combination of walking and weight training, he has regained 40 pounds.

If he remains cancer free next year, Suess will have survived pancreatic cancer five years. Only 6 percent of pancreatic cancer patients live five years after being diagnosed with the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

As part of his positive attitude, Suess explained he plans to participate in Saturday's Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Purple Stride 5K Run/Walk at Retama Park.

The event, expected to attract about 1,000 participants, starts at 8 a.m.

Suess, who has participated in the Purple Stride 5K twice before, said the run gives him an opportunity to meet others who are fighting or have survived pancreatic cancer and to spread his message of hope in overcoming the disease.

“We have to project a feeling of hope,” Suess said. “We got to project a sense of hope that we can double the survival rate (of pancreatic cancer patients) by 2020.”